Wait!" the driver shouted and jumped forward to grab Joe's belt. He pulled Joe back to safety.

"What are you doing?" Freddie demanded angrily.

"I know who this kid is," the driver replied.

"All right, Greg," Freckles said, looking as angry as Freddie. "Who is he and why shouldn't we kill him?"

"He's Hardy's brat," Greg answered. "We kill him and every Fed in the country will be after us. But if we keep him," he added with a glint in his eyes, "his old man will have to do whatever we tell him."

"Let's keep him," said the robber who was a full six feet tall with black hair and green eyes. "I'd love to make Hardy jump through hoops," he added, grinning.

"I agree with Jim," said Freddie, looking at Joe. "I'll even take personal care of pretty boy here," he added, pushing Joe down. He pulled off his belt and bound Joe's feet together.

"Can't have you getting away from us now, can we?" he asked, his nose almost touching Joe's as he spoke.

"What did you have for lunch?" Joe demanded, wrinkling his nose. "Garlic bread with anchovies?"

Freddie stood up, breathing hard with fury, and started to kick Joe only to have Freckles step between them. "Gag him," Freckles ordered Steve, the fifth robber. He was a quite one with wispy blond hair and alert hazel eyes. Joe thought he looked like the most intelligent of the lot.

"Let's get going before someone comes along," Freckles said, going back to the van and climbing in. Freddie pulled Joe up and carried him over his shoulder to the van. He tossed Joe inside, causing him to hit his head against the side of the van, then climbed inside followed by the others. Greg closed the back and got in the driver's seat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"It's been three hours," Frank said to Mr. Carruthers. "Shouldn't your security firm have notified the police by now?" he asked, his patience long gone.

"I don't know what's wrong," Mr. Carruthers replied. "This door isn't on a time lock during the day so the police should have no problem getting in."

"Which means they aren't here," said a discouraged patron.

"Can't we get out from in here?" asked a short, heavy-set man for the hundredth time.

"The door only opens from the outside," Mr. Carruthers stated firmly, for the hundredth time.

"I hear something," someone else said. "Listen." Sure enough, there was a loud click and the door was opening. In stepped two uniformed police officers.

"What took so long?" demanded the obnoxious man Frank and Mr. Carruthers had been suffering with.

The police ignored the man and looked at the bank's president. "What happened?" the officer asked.

"We were robbed at gunpoint," Mr. Carruthers stated. "We were forced in here about three hours ago. Why didn't you get an alert from our security firm?" he asked in confusion.

"I can't answer that, Sir," the officer said. "But if you and the others will just be patient, we'll have someone here to check things out soon."

"Is Joe okay?" Frank asked, stepping forward.

"Frank!" said the officer in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"We were making a deposit when the robbers got here. They kept Joe out," Frank added nervously. "Is he out front?"

"No one is out there," he told Frank gently, placing an arm on Frank's shoulder to prevent him from rushing out. "I know you're worried, but you need to stay here until the crime scene is secured. I'll put out an APB on Joe," he promised as he let Frank go and backed up.

"We're going to need a statement from everyone," the officer continued loudly. "Please be patient. After you give us your statement, you may leave."

After what seemed like forever, Frank was finally allowed back into the lobby of the bank. Ezra Collig, Bayport's tall and graying Chief of Police, was standing by a computer terminal where someone was operating the keyboard. As he got closer, he saw the familiar brown hair and broad shoulders of his father.

"What are you doing here?" Frank asked his dad. He knew his father was busy working on a case involving the theft of various top secret files.

Mr. Hardy looked up from the keyboard. "I was at Thompson Security when the call came in about the robbery," he informed Frank. "The MO sounded familiar, so I came to check it out."

Frank knew MO stood for modus operandi, meaning method of operation. "Where's Joe?" Mr. Hardy asked Frank.

"You didn't tell him?" Frank asked Chief Collig.

"Tell him what?" the chief demanded. He had been awoken twenty minutes ago and informed of the bank's robbery. He had worked two shifts straight and not crawled into bed until ten o'clock that morning.

"They took Joe with them," Frank told the chief and his dad.

"We've already got an APB out on Joe," said Officer Williams coming over to them. He was the officer Frank had talked to earlier.

"Why wasn't I informed?" Chief Collig bellowed.

"No time, Sir," Officer Williams said. "It's been one thing after another ever since we discovered the robbery." Chief Collig accepted this and nodded his dismissal.

A few minutes later, Mr. Carruthers came over. "Mr. Hardy, you have a call on line two," he said.

"Thanks," Mr. Hardy said and picked up the phone still staring at the screen in front of him, which held the security passwords for the bank's video cameras.

"Hardy here," he said into the phone.

"Hello, Hardy," came a friendly voice. "I guess you are trying to figure out how we cleared the cameras."

"What makes you think that?" Mr. Hardy asked, motioning for Chief Collig to trace the call, and then switching on the speaker phone.

"Because I'm logged onto you," was the reply. "Can I be blunt?" the voice continued. "We nearly killed someone you know today."

"If you hurt him," Mr. Hardy began, only to be interrupted by laughter.

"We already have," the voice assured Mr. Hardy. "But he's still alive. Whether he remains so is entirely up to you," the voice continued.

"What do you want?" Mr. Hardy demanded.

"Turn the computer off now," he was ordered. Mr. Hardy did so. "Very good," the voice congratulated. "You take orders better than your son. Stay away from Thompson Security. Stay away from Hanover Industries and stay away from the bank," the voice ordered. "If you are caught anywhere near these places, physically or electronically, you will only have one son left," the voice ended harshly and the phone was slammed down.

Chief Collig looked over at Officer Williams who shook his head. "Not long enough," he said.

Frank, his face pale, looked at his father. "What can I do?" he asked.

"Nothing," ordered Chief Collig before Mr. Hardy could speak. "If you do, Joe dies."

"If Dad does," Frank reminded him. "I can go in where Dad can't," he argued. "I just can't use the computer."

"It's too risky," Chief Collig retorted.

"They've already hurt him," Frank declared angrily. "And we don't know how bad." Frank's eyes were suspiciously bright as he glared at Chief Collig. This was one time Frank was going to investigate even if it meant disobeying the chief and his dad.

Mr. Hardy, however, understood exactly how Frank felt. He stood up and placed a hand on Frank's shoulder. "Let's go home," he said. He held up a hand as Frank started to argue. "The longer I am here, the more we put Joe's life in jeopardy." Frank closed his mouth and followed his father out to the van.

"This is my fault," Frank said on the way home as guilt ate at him. "Joe wanted to wait until Monday to make the deposit so we wouldn't miss the movie but I couldn't wait," he explained as his dad looked over at him.

"It's no more your fault than it is mine or Joe's," Mr. Hardy told him. "None of us could have known what was going to happen."

Frank, ever the logical one, thought about what his father had said and realized he was right. "So, what happens now?" he asked.

"I'm going to have Sam arrange clearance for you at Hanover Industries and Thompson Security," Mr. Hardy said. "Some contracts were stolen detailing a new aircraft for the government," he continued. "Thompson Security controls the security at Hanover and handled the issuance of the contracts."

"How did the cameras black out?" Frank asked.

"They didn't," Mr. Hardy said, surprising him. "The cameras are operated by a special satellite developed exclusively for them by Hanover Industries. The satellite has a five minute delay to allow any accidental alarm triggers to be phoned in."

"And because the cameras work through the satellite, they also have the five minute delay," Frank said, understanding the problem.

"Exactly," Mr. Hardy agreed. "The night the files were taken, not only did no alarm ring, but the security cameras showed no one entering or leaving."

"So not only is the alarm being blocked, someone's sending a false feed," Frank surmised. "But how does the bank robbery connect to you case except for the obvious," he wondered.

"I don't know," Mr. Hardy admitted with a sigh. "Maybe if we find the connection, we'll find out who is behind this."

"I'm glad mom's out of town," Frank said, pulling the van into the driveway. "She worries enough about us without this."

Mr. Hardy nodded his agreement as he climbed down from the van. "Come on," he said to Frank, walking toward the house. "I'll show you what I have so far."

Mr. Hardy opened the front door and went inside followed by Frank. Frank pushed the door closed behind him and was about to follow his dad upstairs when he heard a noise from the kitchen.

Mr. Hardy, having heard the noise as well, came back downstairs. Going to the kitchen door, they took up positions on each side.

Frank held up three fingers, indicating on the count of three they would burst in on the intruder. Before Frank could drop even one finger, the door was pushed open.